Spring support for bicycle seats



A. E. MURRAY SPRING SUPPORT FOR BICYCLE SEATS Oct. 9, 1951 Filed March 5, 1947 INVENTOR fllaiz flMurray ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 9, .1951

or Fo l-CE 3,5709% SPRING LSUPPQRT F JSlC C i QSEATS Alan Emmy, Newfork,' N.'Y. ,AnrlicationMairehi erie N -J3 5 AiClaims.

f'My "invention relates "particularly to seats adapted tofiupportthe body, in any desired posi- "tion and for'any desired purpose, for example;: a s applied to vehicles such as bicycles, automotive Y vehicles, motorcycles, etc.

Theobject of my invention'is to provide aseat oftheabove character, whereby the physiological ;a'ctio n oftthe hips'in actionisgmade possible and Wherebythe detrimental effects due *to vibrations and other undesirable motions ordinarily-transmitted "to the "body are substantially eliminated. Another o'b'jectis toprovidea construction of'this :chara'cterwhich is especially applicable-for useon bicycles which are driven'manually or by means of ,an internal combustion engine, 'or otherwise. Another object 'is to prov'ideaseat which, thus, substantially 'era'dicates the deleterious efiects of :m'otorvibraftions as well as those due to unevennessesjin the'road over which-thevehicle;maybe traveling. Again, a further object is to accpm- ;plish-this;purpose by the elastic suspension of the seat fromthe support above which it is carried, as for instance from the frame of a bicycle. A still further obj ect-is'to accomplish this end, with the aid of elastic suspension. by means of rubber or a rubber substitute, for instance neoprene, which is --under a restrained or restricted amount oftension. A further object is to avoid the-transmission of vibrationsgfrom; any contacting or chattering metal contacts. Further objects of my inevention will appear from thedetailed description .of the same hereinafter. I

While my -invention is cap-able of many different forms, forthe purpose of -illustration I have shown only one form thereof ;-in the accompanyling: drawings, in which "IE- g.,:;l is aside elevation f-abi ycIe seat-made rim-accordance with mydnvention; gand Fig. 2 is a horizontal section thereof, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown a tubular bicycle seat post or supporting rod I of the usual character, which may be received in a split extension 2, having screw-threaded on the outside thereof a nut 3 to tighten and hold the tubular post I in any desired position of vertical or rotatable adjustment. The extension 2 may, in the usual way, form a part of a bicycle frame having a forwardly extending tubular frame member 4, a downwardly and forwardly inclined tubular frame member 5 and smaller rearwardly and angularly inclined tubular frame members 6.

In order to provide a support, for the saddle hereinafter referred to, the upper end of the tubular post I has welded thereto two forwardly and upwardlybentarms land ,8, alsola similar re rwa dlye d u war e a 9 an e laterallydirected upwardly bent arms In and U. The upwardl di te p t s ve l of thes arms 1 ;8, 9, [i3 and II are welded to an outer near-shaped h r a up f am 2 he narrow end [3 of which is directed forwardly. Within the outer frame 12 there .is a similarly shaped inner andsmaller frame It. The inner fra e .L i, which-i mme r el var an e w t n ,the outer frame i2, is supported from the latter by a'sueee sie e e o po w ndi g Of On o morerllbber or rubber substitute cords I5, [6, II, 11 19 2e e d i rubbe cor a be i ,the formof a succession of endless rubber rings, 'Qr it be in the form ofone or more rubber pr rubher substitute cords of any desired thickness, asjfc ns ance 1% in am t hee dse which maybe tied or secured together in any .ed ma nner. .jlneach instance therubber or r pber substitute cords are preferably applied unde iseme tecsie o stre n bu ot t su an extent astro stretch the san e to the elastic 'Iimitthereof when applied. As shown in the draWinsst esesroup ofpords l5, I 6, 1, 8,rl9., ,lii andjl may ,be in isolated groups or they may bejeuerily diStlibuted between the frames l2 and fljd, and, infaet somepr all of the windings may ,beplaeed on toppfone another if desired. EX- tending inwardlyandhorizontally from the inner frame it there are, furthermore, provided jfive spider ,arn s 7227,13, 24, 25 and .26, the inner ends .of hichareall welded to a tubular metal standard ,Ihaving an upper flattened end 28 through which there ,is passed ascrew-threaded bolt 29 jhavipgthereonawingednutfifi to tighten therepngand holdin placeapair of SpaQQdl S and 32 which embrace the opposite sides of the flattened extension 26 on the end of the tubular standard 21. The two cars 3| and 32 are carried by or fastened, by welding or otherwise, to a horizontal saddle plate or bar 33, the inclination of which to the horizontal may be changed, if desired, by the adjustment of the winged nut 30.

This saddle plate or bar 33 has a transverse pin 33a fastened thereto, by welding or otherwise, at the front thereof and a similar transverse pin at the rear thereof, a lower arm 34 on each of two helical springs 35 being located, respectively, around an end of the pin 33a, each said spring having an upper arm 36 thereon fastened beneath a leather saddle or seating device 31 which extends at its front end over the said arm 36 of each helical spring 35. The saddle 3'L'furthermore, has an upwardly and laterally flared rear end 38 which is supported by two helical springs 39 and 48, arranged side by side beneath and fastened to the underside of the flared end 38 of the saddle 31. These springs 39 and 40 are supported upon and fastened to the saddle plate 33 in any desired manner, as for example by the lower ends of the springs 39 and 40 being located, respectively, around the ends of said transverse pin fastened to the rear of the bar 33.

In the operation of my invention, it will be understood that the saddle post I may be received in the frame of the bicycle at any desired angle to the vertical, according to the construction of the particular bicycle having the frame members 4, and 6 thereon. Also, the position of elevation of the post I may be changed by loosening the saddle 37 or whether the vehicle on which it may be mounted is traveling over the usual roads, as there is a practical elimination or eradication of any vibrations that would otherwise be transmitted to the occupant of the saddle due either to the operation of the'reciprocating parts of the internal combustion motor driving the vehicle or the unevennesses of the road bed over which the vehicle is traveling, or due to the starting and stopping of the vehicle. These vibrations are effectually eliminated because of the elastic suspension of the stretched rubber elements or groups of rubber cords l5, l6, l7, l8, I9, and 2|, as the latter entirely absorb any such vibrations. This construction, furthermore, eliminates entirely the possibility of any chattering metal contacts which otherwise would transmit vibrations, especially when loosened or not in proper adjustment. This arrangement, furthermore, eliminates possible physical damage or injury to the rider where such vibrations are extensiv or continuous in character, as in previous seats, especially in the case of motorcycles, in the operation of which the vibrations from the motor and road bed are so extremely great as to render their use generally undesirable. Furthermore, by

eliminating vibrations of this character, both from the operation of the motor and from unevennesses of the road, a large amount of the fatigue that would otherwise be produced is eliminated so that greater distances may be traveled with impunity than would otherwise be the case.-

While I have described m invention above in detail I wish it to be understood that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the same.

2,570,970 a ,7 Z, e.

I claim:

1. A bicycle seat having beneath the same an adjustable horizonta1 support frame including a supporting rod for said support frame, an elastic stretched rubber-like suspension in the form of rubber strands stretched from a second horizontal frame within said first frame beneath the seat to the support frame, and a seat supported on said second frame.

2-. A seat having beneath. the same a horizontal support frame including a supporting rod for said support frame, an approximately horizontal frame within the first frame, an elastic suspension means in the form of stretched rubber-like strands, extending beneath the seat to the frame support from the. approximately horizontal frame, and a seat, said second frame having a 'pivoted adjustable connection to said seat.

3. A seat having beneath the same a horizontal support frame including a supporting rod for said support frame, an approximately horizontal frame within the supportframe, an elastic suspension means, in the form of stretched rubberlike strands extending beneath the seat to the support frame from the approximatelyhorizontal frame, and a seat, said second frame having a pivoted adjustable connection to the seat and provided with spider-like radial arms leading from the pivoted connection to said second frame.

4. A bicycle saddle having beneath the same a support including a supporting post for said saddle, an approximately horizontal frame and an elastic suspension means, in the form of stretched rubber-like strands, extending from beneath the saddle to the support from the approximately horizontal frame, said support having a frame surrounding the first frame and from which the first mentioned frame is supported by said strands, the second frame having spider-like radial arms leading from said frame to a saddle standard and a saddle supported on said second frame.

' ALAN E. MURRAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 544,625 Montague Aug. 13, 1895 2,273,286 Robert Feb. 17, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 58,577 Denmark Apr. 7, 1941 820,295 France July 26, 1937 478,736 Great Britain Jan. 24, 1938 

